Russia / Strategy Media Update – 19 August 2017

Blank writes a very nice OpEd arguing for arming Ukraine. Volker to meet Russians early next week. Russia’s descent continues. Whitmore speculates on changes in Russia. Goble digest on end of Putin era is very good – Balanovsky argues the internal forces that propelled Putin into his position are dissipating. While Russia bans Witnesses, it cultivates Neo-Nazis in social media. Russians standing in queues as a means of bypassing bans on freedom of assembly. Feminism now deemed an “extremist activity” in Russia. FSB show trial evidence against Tartar mistranslated by FSB, while complaining Chechen village required to attend “repentance rally”. More on 1991 coup.

Belarusian opposition calls for protests against foreign (i.e. Russian) troops in Belarus, while nationalist supporting Ukrainian Right Sector DUK argues Belarus should not do business with proxy “republics”.

Romania to acquire US MLRS that will produce apoplexy in Transnistria.

The single biggest news item in Ukraine is the visit of SECDEF Mattis to Kyiv on Independence Day to meet Pres Poroshenko and DefMin Poltorak. Nice clips from rehearsals. SBU busts Russian funded propagandist writing fake news for German media. Donbass fires continue. Some excellent Youtube clips from recent AFU training exercises.

More on Spanish and now Finnish terrorist attacks, and another attack on Afghanistan proposal.

Karasik argues denuclearised Kazakhstan as a template for the DPRK, ignoring the plight of denuclearised and now invaded Ukraine, and the anxiety in Astana over the Russian MPs proposing invasion and annexation of Kazakhstan – if the DPRK takes Kazakhstan as an example, it will never relinquish its nukes! Multiple interesting DPRK backfill reports, especially on the large number of covert communities of Christians. More than a dozen articles on the dispute between India and China, which is bigger, older and deeper than many in the West appreciate – and the Xinhua skit is producing much blowback.

Four articles on Germany’s SDP (Soviet Disciple Party?) and its devotion to Russia (and Gazprom/Rosneft money). Erdogan meddling in German politics. Venezuela meltdown.

Possible PLA VLO heavy bomber reported. Much on new Stryker Dragoon with 30mm and FGM-148 Javelin.

OPINION | President Trump should authorize the provision of weapons for Ukraine today. The decision whether or not to provide Ukraine with weapons has now reached the White House. Both the State Department and Pentagon approved this policy and Kurt Volker, President Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, has also done so. Nevertheless, opponents of this policy have again flooded the media arguing against giving Ukraine these weapons. Their arguments boil down into three categories: Russia allegedly retains escalation dominance and will be provoked if we do so, our allies oppose this move and in any event Ukraine does not merit these weapons due to its democratic or other capability deficits. Unfortunately, all three arguments are unfounded. ADVERTISEMENT Russia already is and will be provoked whatever we do. But doing nothing encourages it to continue escalating its aggression against Ukraine as it has done with relative impunity. Russia has created armies and divisions against Ukraine and brought its best weapons there, notably not against the Baltic States where it faces NATO. Russia commits daily major violations of the Minsk accords x and its forces have killed about 10,000 Ukrainians, devastated eastern and southern Ukraine, imposed ethnic purges if not ethnic cleansing on Crimea and shot down unarmed civilian airliners. Beyond this it has sponsored terrorism in Ukraine and wages an unrelenting information and economic warfare against Ukraine. Finally, it has launched information warfare and constant threats against all of Europe and the U.S. Yet Russia cannot and dare not launch an all out war against Ukraine because of the limits to its own military capability which amounts to about 100,000 men capable of being operationally deployed against a resolute and steadily improving Ukrainian army. Indeed, these opponents of helping Ukraine refuse to acknowledge the progress made by this army or the resolute fighting spirit of the Ukrainian people lest that detract from their narrative of a Russia unlimited by its own economic weakness and military capabilities. Actually Putin himself had to announce defense cutbacks on August 14. Russia cannot and dare not sustain a protracted war that would lead to many fatalities and is the inevitable cost of further escalation even though it can always make life miserable for Ukraine. By giving Ukraine weapons we raise the cost to Russia when it can least afford it and adopt Moscow’s long-standing tactic by helping Ukraine fight and talk simultaneously. We thus replicate the way we helped drive Soviet forces from Afghanistan and fully accords with our policy since 1947 of helping people who wish to be free defend themselves against naked aggression. Second, although our allies have decided not to offer weapons, they have stated that they would accept it if we decided to do so. Clearly this is an amber flashing light, not a stop sign. Neither will they pressure Ukraine to accept the Minsk accords when Russia violated them before the ink was dry and still does so. Therefore alleged allied opposition is not only no argument, it is utterly unfounded. If anything, helping Ukraine defend itself and fulfilling our own prior assurances of its sovereignty and integrity in the 1994 Budapest document would strengthen allied confidence unlike the craven past policy of abandoning our commitments once Russia invaded Ukraine. Third, admittedly Ukraine suffers from many well known and extensively reported democratic and other defects — so do w —, as recent events clearly show. Thus Ukraine is hardly unique. And in any case the quality of its governance and democratic credentials is ultimately irrelevant to the issue of a country struggling to build democracy that must fight for its life, freedom, territorial integrity and sovereignty against naked aggression. It is clearly in our interest as the guarantor of European and Ukrainian security as well as as the upholder of a liberal world order that aggression not be rewarded. Therefore failure to act not only rewards Russian aggression it actually increases the chances of U.S. troops fighting in Europe. Ukraine may not be perfect. But it will defend its freedom and only wants us to give it the tools to finish the job as we assured Ukraine we would. Moreover, the longer this war drags on the less likely it is that Ukraine will become more democratic or that it will be able to reform its economy by itself. That would be impossible in wartime. Neither does giving Ukraine the means of self-defense prevent us and our allies from leaning on Kyiv to continue reforms. If anything, doing so gives us more leverage for Ukraine will not long heed people whom it feels abandoned it during its crisis. Thus the arguments for opposition lack a basis in reality and should be dismissed. President Trump should authorize the provision of these weapons for Ukraine today, just like Polish members of Solidarity in the 1980’s are not only fighting for their freedom, they are fighting for ours. Stephen Blank is a senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council. He is the author of numerous foreign policy-related articles, white papers and monographs, specifically focused on the geopolitics and geostrategy of the former Soviet Union, Russia and Eurasia. He is a former MacArthur Fellow at the U.S. Army War College.

I did not touch this translation at all. This Russian propaganda channel seemed to be populated by students competing for who could submit the most bizarre stories. I’ve seen stories about the red eyes on people you see in pictures taken with a flash being actual pictures of devils from Amerika. </end editorial> Russian propaganda…

I tried to wrap my brain around the first two bullets, but the logic doesn’t flow for me. What am I missing? As for the remainder, you may ask why? Mostly, because Russia. </end editorial> Friday, August 18, 2017 Paul Goble Staunton, August 18 – On March 1, 1953, Radio Liberty began broadcasting to the…

Paul Goble Staunton, August 18 – The line has been a Russian tradition for more than a century. Under Nicholas II, Russians stood in line for his coronation. Under Stalin, they did so for his funeral and often for food, under Gorbachev, for McDonald’s and under Yeltsin, for humanitarian assistance, Igor Zalyubovin and Karina Bashayeva write. And today, the two Snob journalists say, “lines haven’t disappeared, but they have changed. Now, [hundreds of thousands of] Russians stand for hours for spiritual nourishment” of various kinds ranging from various art exhibits to the display of church relics (snob.ru/selected/entry/128077). They provide statistics on the numbers, the hours waited, and other details of these lines, but they fail to point to the most important aspect of this largest public activity in Russia, one far larger than any political demonstration for the regime or against it: the creation of a specific civic space where people can share ideas, information and rumors about what is going on. As Olga Grushin described this phenomenon in her 2010 novel The Line, Russians are profoundly affected by lines independent of why they are standing in them, with the experience itself reinforcing their understanding of what is going on and how they should respond to it whether merely surviving or participating in what they may sense is a chance for change. And thus they may begin to ask more than the two questions that Russians passing a line asked in Soviet times: “what are they giving?” and “who’s last?” Instead, they may ask more radical ones like those who stood in line for physical food in 1917 even though they are now waiting for spiritual sustenance instead.

In light of this revelation, one has to wonder why “The Daily Stormer” was taken down in Russia? Was it symbolic, was it an empty gesture, was it a publicity stunt? </end editorial> Paul Goble Staunton, August 18 – After its American internet providers refused to continue to carry it, the American neo-Nazi publication, The…

Paul Goble Staunton, August 18 – After its American internet providers refused to continue to carry it, the American neo-Nazi publication, The Daily Stormer, relocated to the Russian domain; but before it could begin posting, the Russian authorities first requested and then ordered that it be taken down. Given the vicious content of this publication, one can only welcome the decision of Russian officials. But Moscow is getting more credit than it deserves because The Daily Stormer — and more than 100 additional neo-Nazi sites that have been blocked on Western social media — are now functioning without problems on Russian social networks (meduza.io/feature/2017/08/17/amerikanskie-i-evropeyskie-ultrapravye-massovo-pereselyayutsya-v-rossiyskiy-internet-chto). “Western ultra-right groups have begun to migrate to the Russian segment of the Internet because of Facebook’s blocking of these groups. In ‘VKontakte,’ one can find more than a hundred nationalists groups whose users include people from the US, Germany, Sweden and other countries,” the Meduza news agency says. Most of these groups migrated to the Russian social networks last year, but some have done so “already after the events in Charlottesville,” the agency says. One US extreme nationalist told Meduza that “’VKontakte for us is a new discovery,” where they can more freely disseminate their messages. The management of that network says that it will block groups that call for cruelty and violence but not those that simply put out an ideological message. A few of the neo-Nazi groups have been blocked, it appears; but most continue to operate. Both Russian law and Russian practice allow for their removal, but penalties are minimal in most cases, lawyers say.

Posted to Facebook this morning. I just had to share. The source page is actually well worth reading. It is irreverent, it is funny, it is more truthful than most shlock you read about Russia. Quoting a friend: Lenin was never General-Secretary, he was the Sovnarkom or Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars, the…

Russia is treating feminists as extremists as part its crackdown on dissident voices, a human rights organisation has warned. A group of women who travelled to the southwest of the country for a feminist gathering were questioned on two occasions and warned against carrying out “extremist activity”, according to Human Rights Watch.

The residents of Krasnaya Turbina, a village in Chechnya, were reportedly forced to attend a “repentance rally” in Grozny, after signing an open letter to Russian Attorney General Yuri Chaika, complaining about torture by local police officers.

Paul Goble Staunton, August 18 – On the eve of the 26th anniversary of the August 1991 coup attempt that many see as the event that triggered the end of the Soviet Union, Komsomolskaya Pravda organized an interview with Aleksandr Prokhanov, who backed the coup, and Nikolay Svanidze who didn’t (kp.ru/daily/26720.7/3745067/). Prokhanov, the Russian nationalist editor of Segodnya, reprised his longstanding argument that the coup could have succeeded if the leaders of the force structures had acted decisively and arrested Boris Yeltsin but that it failed because they didn’t and also because they were too linked to Mikhail Gorbachev who in fact promoted the coup to eliminate Yeltsin. Svanidze, a longtime Moscow commentator, offers a different, more interesting and more persuasive argument in the course of answer the Russian newspaper’s question. He acknowledges that had the coup leaders shown more boldness, they might have succeeded in restoring the Kremlin’s position over Russia but that “the USSR wouldn’t have been preserved.” “These are different things,” he reminds his readers. The coup leaders might have been able to hold on for a time “at the price of blood,” but “the Soviet Union was condemned economically and politically. Many republics had run from it, and those who remained couldn’t be held for long.” The center no longer had any carrots and its sticks were too short, Svanidze continues, and “cruelty is a poor substitute for power.” The only chance the Soviet system had and it was a long one was the conclusion of a new Union Treaty among the republics. But the coup delayed its signing and ultimately made its conclusion impossible. Svanidze also points to some important distinctions between how many view the country beyond Moscow’s ring road. “In Russian history,” he says, “all fateful events occur in the capitals. The people in our colossal land waits until something happens whether in Petrograd in 1917 or Moscow in 1991.” But the fact that they waited “does not mean that they were sympathetic to the coup plotters. They already hated the communists” who had lost all authority because they had led the country into ruin. “The shelves in stores were empty. There was bread for only a few more days … Hunger threatened us. The people felt it.” And for that reason, “the putsch was condemned in principle,” even if the plotters acted decisively. “They understood that their situation was hopeless. Some were ready to be cruel, and some were not.” They could not be certain of the military or the KGB, and they were afraid of what would happen to them if they acted decisively. The plotters understood as well, Svanidze says, “that if they shed blood today, tomorrow their blood would be shed. And they weren’t ready to risk that. “To save the country was possible only by involving other economic mechanisms. But the coup plotters were not ready to do that. They were prepared only for conservative decisions.” Those as events would have shown had they acted decisively in those August days, the Moscow commentator says, were not enough. And thus, “Yeltsin’s victory in August 1991 was objectively decided in advance. And in fact, this was a positive variant for the development of events. Without large-scale bloodshed, and with a soft variant of the disintegration of the Union. We escaped from under the rubble of the USSR without a catastrophe and we live in a new country.”

It is better to go to a peaceful protest in due time than to go to a real war later. Student activist Krystsian Shynkevich, one of the active participants of the spring protest rallies, has told bnknews.org why it is important to go to Kastrychnitskaya Square on the anniversary of victory in the battle of Vorsha: – For me, the day of September 8 is a day of remembrance of our ancestors who defended our country. They gave their lives for it, not for the kind power that we have now. We must show at the rally, that we do not want foreign troops in Belarus, that we will not let them seize our country in the way Putin has been trying to do with Ukraine. As a resident of Belarus, I do not need any foreign troops in my homeland, and I can say this out loud on September 8. Moreover, as a result of a possible occupation of our country, we might lose our history, language, culture, history, which our ancestors built for centuries, completely. It is better to go to the Square and speak now, to preserve peace in our land than to remain silent, and then go to war. Let’s remind, the prevention rally will be held at Kastrychnitskaya Square in Minsk on September 8. The beginning is at 19 p.m.

Patriots will seek sanctions against Lukashenka. The combat team Belarus negatively regards any cooperation with LDPR (the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics) and hopes that official Kiev will convince the Belarusian authorities to abandon trade with the separatists in the Donbass. If they fail to convince them, the volunteers will welcome the imposition of sanctions against Belarusian enterprises, BelSat reports. “A full economic blockade should be used against the temporarily occupied areas of the Donbass and Crimea. There is a war, there can be no trade. We understand that the Belarusian authorities have granted permission to the large enterprises to supply their goods to the temporarily occupied areas in the Donbass and Crimea, since the economy is tied up with the politics. “Gymnasts” from Lukashenka’s administration are very fond of geopolitical ” leg-split” – to take advantage of a difficult situation and have a gesheft from two warring parties,” – the combat team Belarus says. When asked whether Belarusian volunteers were going to hold protests in Ukraine or in any other way react to such behavior of Belarusian enterprises, the combat team Belarus noted: “We are preparing a number of steps to influence the situation. The format will be broad, we hope the Ukrainian authorities will get interested, since these issues should be raised and resolved at the interstate level.” The members of the combat team Belarus hope that official Kiev will find words to explain to Minsk that trade with LDPR is a wrong way. “If sanctions are needed to explain this, then we welcome the principle actions. Evil must be denounced and punished! Sanctions against the persons who are behind this trade are equally important,” – the Belarusian volunteers believe. As Charter97.org website reported earlier, the products of dozens of Belarusian enterprises get to the separatists through the Russian-Ukrainian border, which is not controlled by official Kiev. A number of enterprises make little secret of the direct deliveries to Donetsk and Lugansk. Belarusian plants produce beer and vodka under the trademarks of DPR companies, whose owners in Ukraine are suspected of financing terrorism. Ukrainian Ambassador Igor Kizima has stated that if the investigation data is confirmed, Belarusian companies will get on the “black list” and will not be able to supply their products to Ukraine. The ambassador adds that the official Kiev will seek the European Union’s support of the sanctions. Belarusian authorities do not comment on trading with “LDPR.” The combat team Belarus, which unites Belarusian volunteers, was established as part of the volunteer Ukrainian corps Right Sector in July 2015. Later, the combat team Belarus was transformed into an independent combat unit.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 18, 2017 — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will begin a five-day trip to the Middle East and Europe tomorrow, defense officials announced today. The trip is intended to reaffirm the enduring U.S. commitment to strategic partnerships, the officials said. Mattis will begin his engagements Aug. 21 in Jordan by meeting with King Abdullah II and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Freihat. “The secretary will express U.S. appreciation for Jordanian efforts to combat [the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria], and re-affirm U.S. commitment to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Jordan in facing regional and global challenges,” the officials said. This is the secretary’s first trip to Jordan during his tenure, they said. On Aug. 23, Mattis is scheduled to travel to Turkey to meet with Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli, Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlut Çavusoğlu and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The defense secretary will emphasize the steadfast U.S. commitment to Turkey as a NATO ally and strategic partner, “seek to collaborate on efforts to advance regional stability, and look for ways to help Turkey address its legitimate security concerns — including the fight against the [Kurdistan Workers’ Party],” defense officials said. Mattis concludes his trip Aug. 24 with his first visit to Kyiv, Ukraine, as defense secretary. There, the secretary will meet with Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak and President Petro Poroshenko. “During these engagements, the secretary will reassure our Ukrainian partners that the U.S. remains firmly committed to the goal of restoring Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as strengthening the strategic defense partnership between our two countries,” the officials said.

Start at: Published on August 19, 2017 On Khreshchatyk there was a regular evening training of the personnel involved in the military parade that will be held on August 24 on the occasion of the 26th anniversary of Independence of Ukraine. It is planned that about 4,5 thousand troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, the State Border Guard Service, officers of the National Police of Ukraine will take part in the celebrations. Also, the units of the Armed Forces of the partner countries will be the main street of the country. The general rehearsal of the parade is scheduled for August 22.

Ukraine’s Independence Day will open on August 22 at Khreshchatyk an exhibition of the latest Ukrainian weapons and military equipment “The Power of Unbreakable.” First of all, we are talking about self-propelled artillery units, tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, cargo and sanitary cars – a total of 67 units, which, after a brief exhibit, will arrive in the ATO zone. On the eve of this demonstration of arms and military equipment to journalists in the park of the Private Regiment of the President of Ukraine.

On the occasion of the National Flag Day, President Petro Poroshenko will take part in hoisting the national flag on August 23&nbsp;and open an exhibition of arms and military equipment. On August 24, the Head of State will hold a military parade.

At the end of the past day, the situation in the zone of the Anti-Terrorist Operation has not changed significantly. Russian-occupation forces continued violations of&nbsp;ceasefire, using mainly grenade launchers and small arms, that&rsquo;s according to the press center of the ATO Headquarters. News 19 August from UNIAN.

In Chernihiv region, competitions for the best tank platoon of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were completed. Within 5 days, the contestants competed in the championship in various nominations that were presented in all areas of tank platoon training. The final stage of the competition is the shooting of the platoon. The first place for the second year in a row was won by a team of 14 separate mechanized brigades. The second was the tankers of a separate mechanized brigade of 30, and on the third step of the pedestal a platoon of 17 separate tank brigades rose. Video of the press service of OK “North”

Another flying change. One by one, Su-27 fighter planes and L-39 training trains climb in the air. The pilots in the booths feel confident, because their work is reliably provided by the personnel of the battalion of communication and radio engineering.

Military aviators on the Su-27 fighters trained piloting at low altitudes at night. Such maneuvers are one of the most complex types of flight training. Video of the press service of the tactical aviation brigade (Mirgorod)

The Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine continues bilateral command post exercise with practical actions of troops, aircraft ground that in the Volyn region, the crews of combat aircraft of different families of aircraft performed tasks for the practical application of aviation weapons, such as bombing, and worked tactical flight The task of conducting conditional air battles. In general, according to the commander-in-chief of the Colonel-General Sergei Drozdov, the first day of practical action was successful, the effectiveness of the accomplished tasks was achieved. As a result, it can be said that the tasks for the use of aviation aids were successful and achievable, that is, implementation in the minimum permissible proximity to the target center.

Between 2014 and 2017, Ukraine’s leadership failed to transform the country’s old post-Soviet Russia oligarchic system into a European and Western-style democracy. The transformation is inefficient and slow, and this entails risk, writes Roman Rukomeda. Roman Rukomeda is a political expert. There is no doubt that Russia continues to influence Ukraine by all possible means available. Cyber warfare became the main direction of Russia’s undeclared war against Ukraine in the first half of 2017. However, the Ukrainian authorities are alleged to be using the undeclared war with Russia as the main reason for the lack of reforms and transformations in the country. One of the key risks in Ukraine is the perception of people of the absence of effective efforts to fight corruption on all levels. During the July EU-Ukraine summit in Kyiv, President of the European Commission Jean Claude Juncker said Ukraine needs to speed up its fight against corruption.

Decentralization in Ukraine after the 2014 revolution was the right step to take, says German Special Envoy Georg Milbradt in an interview with DW. Now, citizens have more influence on their country’s political system.

Two people were killed and several more were injured in a knife attack on Friday afternoon in Turku. Police shot and apprehended a suspect shortly after the attack began. Investigators say it is not yet clear whether or not the attack was terror-related.

BY SOFIA LOTTO PERSIO ON 8/18/17 AT 1:24 PM North Korea released a new series of propaganda posters showing its missiles attacking the U.S. as part of an ongoing effort to rally its people against the new round of U.N.-approved sanctions. The six designs published in the state-controlled North Korean media on Thursday included references to the…

Change comes following rumors of secret negotiations between US and North Korea The number of US troops participating in this year’s US-South Korea Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) joint exercise, which will start from Aug. 21, has decreased in comparison to last year. This has led to speculation about whether the exercise itself has been scaled down. According to a military source on August 18, “In this year’s Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise, there will be about 50,000 South Korean troops and a total of 17,500 American troops, including 3,000 overseas reinforcements.” Last year’s exercise is known to have had a total of 25,000 U.S. troops, including 2,500 overseas reinforcements. Although the number of overseas reinforcements has risen by 500, the total number of troops has decreased by 7,500. It is uncertain whether the decrease in troop numbers signifies a scaling down of the exercise itself. South Korea military leaders have consistently rejected the idea of a scaled down military exercise, saying, “The scope of this year’s Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise will be similar to that of last year.” However, in the event that North Korea and the U.S. conducted secret negotiations to reduce the scale of the UFG following North Korea’s recent threats of missile strikes around Guam, it seems possible that the scale of the joint military exercise has decreased. On the same day, the South Korean Ministry of Defense released more information, revealing that, “There will be a training conducted for the U.S.-South Korea Ulchi Freedom Guardian joint military exercise, which will start on August 21 and end on August 31.” According to the Defense Ministry, “This is an annual command post exercise that is part of the US-South Korea alliance,” and “Seven United Nations member states participating in the UN Command, including Australia, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, New Zealand, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom will send military officials as observers.” By Park Byong-su, senior staff writer

For 16 years, North Korea been ranked the “most oppressive place in the world for Christians,” and this week the U.S. State Department re-asserted it as one of the world’s worst religious persecutors – torturing and executing those even suspected of worshipping outside their dictatorship.

Residents of a town on the Japanese coast held evacuation drills on Saturday to prepare for any launch of North Korean missiles toward the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam, that would fly over their homes.

After viewing the video, I have to wonder who approved this video? The video is absolutely racist, immature, and just plain bad. …and it’s in English. Here is the best place to view the video, I believe. Well worth a look. China mocks India with a racist video over Doklam standoff I have never…

Wangcha Sangey says Delhi’s interference in the border talks between Bhutan and China was intended to assert control over Bhutan. Having failed, it must pull back its troops, and leave the other two to conclude their talks

In April this year, The Indian Express reported that India had sent Sowa-Rigpa, the Tibetan system of medicine, as its official entry for UNESCO’s prestigious Intangible Cultural Heritage list. The problem was Beijing, too, had sent a similar entry, claiming Sowa-Rigpa as its own.

In Germany, the nomination of former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder to the board of directors of the state corporation Rosneft was criticized. According to Cenzor.NET , referring to DW , German deputy of the European Parliament from the Green Party, Reinhard Byutikofer, stated about Schroeder: “He finally demeaned to the paid footman of Putin’s policy.” The politician called the behavior of the ex-chancellor shameless and urged the Social Democratic Party of Germany to distance itself from its former leader. In turn, Ulrich Delius, director of the Society for the Protection of Harassing Peoples, said that Rosneft was involved in human rights violations and “by driving its activities in the Arctic and Siberia, drives a nail into the coffin of the indigenous peoples of Russia.” He suggested that the Russian oil and gas company could try to use the connections of the ex-chancellor of Germany to withdraw from the EU sanctions.

18.08.17 17:56 – In the German party, the Christian Democratic Union, which is part of the ruling coalition, wants to know what German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel talked with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting in St. Petersburg on June 2. This is reported by the newspaper Bild, reports Tsenzor.NET with reference to Lenta.ru . It is not known what exactly was discussed during the June feast: were there any European energy policy and the Nord Stream?” – this question is asked by Jürgen Hardt, who is responsible for foreign policy in the CDU faction in the Bundestag. He added that dinner at the residence of the Russian leader is not a personal matter for the head of the German Foreign Ministry. Hardt also asked whether Gabriel understood then that “his party friend and mentor” Gerhard Schroeder plans to get a good place in the Russian state-owned company. The matter is that former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder became a candidate for a seat on the board of directors of the Russian oil and gas company Rosneft. The German edition notes that Schroeder attended the meeting of Putin and Gabriel. The President of Russia and the German Foreign Minister met in the framework of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The media reported that Putin and Gabriel were discussing bilateral relations. Источник: https://censor.net.ua/n452231

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has slammed Germany’s three main political parties as “enemies of Turkey” ahead of parliamentary elections. The comments drew a swift rebuke from Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Venezuela’s new legislative superbody was criticized by South American governments and Washington on Friday after giving itself the power to pass laws, superseding the opposition-led congress while ex-top prosecutor Luisa Ortega fled the country.

Satellite imagery shows that China has developed new stealth bomber. The new mystery Chinese bomber was spotted at a research facility in the city of Chengdu. The mystery Chinese aircraft similar to the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit and X-47B unmanned combat air vehicle. Some source said that this aircraft is the Xian H-20 heavy long-range strategic bomber. In September 2016, the Ministry of National Defense of the People’s Republic of China has confirmed that the next-gen long-range bomber is under development. “We are now developing a new generation of long-range bomber, and you’ll see it in the future,” said Commander of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) of China Ma Xiaotian. Analysts noted that the new type bomber may enter service by 2025, and will seek to replace China’s existing fleet of Xian H-6K bombers.

As one of the first Soldiers to shoot a powerful 30 mm cannon from a new Stryker combat vehicle, Staff Sgt. Randall Engler was excited about what the weapon could do for his infantry squad. “It’s empowering,” said Engler, of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, which has asked the Army to give its Stryker fleet more lethality to deter Russia and other near-peer threats. “You’re laying that hate [on a target] with a bigger round. It’s doing a lot more damage and you’re getting better effects.” Engler and 14 others from the regiment recently traveled from Germany to Aberdeen Proving Ground as part of a six-week test and training event on the new Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicle, which is nicknamed “Dragoon” after the unit. The Soldiers also tested the new CROWS-J system, a common remote-operated weapons station that allows troops to fire Javelin anti-tank guided missiles from the safety inside existing Stryker models. “We try to get users on the platform early on, that’s why there are crews from [2nd Cavalry] here now,” said Col. Glenn Dean, the Army’s Stryker program manager, during a media event Tuesday at Aberdeen. Six Stryker vehicles from each 30 mm cannon and Javelin variant are slated to head to Germany this January, where more 2nd Cavalry Soldiers will be able to share their input. The Army hopes to field the combat vehicles in a forward location next summer when the regiment’s 1st Squadron is expected to go to Poland, Dean added. The regiment requested more firepower for its 81 Stryker ICVs due to the recent military operations of Russia, which has shown hostility in parts of Eastern Europe. After seeing Russia’s upgraded combat vehicles during the country’s invasion of Ukraine in 2015, Army leaders recognized a need to revamp the Stryker fleet. “The Russians, it turns out, had upgraded and fielded significant capabilities while we were engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Daniel B. Allyn said after the first Dragoon prototype was delivered in October. The Orbital ATK XM813 30X173mm cannon used on the Dragoon is a derivative of the Mk44 Bushmaster II cannon—a highly capable, reliable and versatile weapon. Derivatives of the Mk44 fly on AC-130J gunships and are installed on Littoral Combat Ships and San Antonio class amphibious assault ships, not to mention many other weapon systems applications around the globe. The 30mm cannon is not meant to give the Stryker the ability to take on columns of enemy advanced heavy armor offensively, but it does give Stryker units a far more robust defensive capability against those types of threats.

BY LEIGH CUEN ON 08/18/17 AT 1:43 PM President Donald Trump just announced he is elevating U.S. Cyber Command to a full combat command, which means more military resources will go towards developing both offensive and defensive cyber weapons. The National Security Agency and CYBERCOM, which now has the same authorities as U.S. Central Command, are stationed in Fort Meade, Maryland.…

Fri, 08/18/2017 – 12:00pm by Laura French – Associate Editor – @ForensicMag Editor’s Note: Welcome to my weekly column, Virtual Case Notes, in which I interview industry experts for their take on the latest cybersecurity situation. Each week I will take a look at a new case from the evolving realm of digital crime and digital forensics.…

Using the URL dailystormer.lol, the banned website, “The Daily Stormer” has relocated to the Tor Network. As I predicted yesterday, it has now become a free-speech issue. After GoDaddy withdrew the domain DailyStormer.com, followed by Google domains, then multiple other Domain providers also refused, the website temporarily relocated to DailyStomer.ru. Roskomnadzor or the Russian Federal Service for…

Adm. Hyman Rickover, the “Father of the Nuclear Navy,” was once quoted as saying, “If you’re going to sin, sin against God, not the bureaucracy. God will forgive you but the bureaucracy won’t.” So how, in an organization as large and often unwieldy as the Department of Defense, does change occur within a bureaucracy that can be both in opposition to and unforgiving of that change? Proposals for change within DoD are everywhere. Each week, numerous op-eds, blog posts, talkshow appearances, and think tank studies point out myriad ways in which DoD must evolve or risk some frightening fate. Sometimes these proposals are useful, though many fall short of truly rigorous analysis. Good or bad, what most have in common is a key omission. They avoid the question of how to translate ideas into action. For DoD, where multiple stakeholders must often agree, this part of the proposal is as important as the concept itself, as no good idea is immune to the primacy of process. When we review past incidences of significant change, generally it takes one of four forms: internal-consensus, internal-insurgency, external-collaborative, and external-divisive. In a department whose business is war and in which the stakes of success or failure are measured in both blood and treasure, change can be both imperative and seemingly impossible. Understanding these processes—and how stakeholders will support a new idea—is thus critical for agents of change to implement new ideas that could prove to be the key to mission accomplishment in combat.